The Deceitfulness of Sin

 

 

^"7 Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says,

“Today if you hear His voice,
⁸ Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me,
As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
⁹ Where your fathers tried Me by testing Me,
And saw My works for forty years.
¹⁰ “Therefore I was angry with this generation,
And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart,
And they did not know My ways’;
¹¹ As I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.’”

¹² Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. ¹³ But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴ For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, ¹⁵ while it is said,

“Today if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me.”

¹⁶ For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? ¹⁷ And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? ¹⁸ And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? ¹⁹ So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief."

Hebrews 3:7-19

 

Good Morning My Beloved,

I would like to welcome all of you to worship this Lord's Day!

We are so grateful for each of you, our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, we are so thankful that you were lead to join with us today.

 

If you have been a Christian for very long, you have likely witnessed someone make a profession of faith in Christ, followed by a number of dramatic positive changes in his life. It is so exciting to see this new found joy. Then a difficult trial hits from out of nowhere, and their faith becomes shaken to the core. He stops coming to church and starts to avoid other Christians. It's not long until he is back at his old ways. And you're wondering, "What happened? Can Christians really lose their salvation?" Why do some people have so much trouble heeding warnings? I believe that most often we ignore the warning. Like when you see a sign posted saying, "Do not touch, wet paint?"  I don’t know about you but I always feel compelled to touch it, to see if it is still wet. However, not paying attention to biblical warnings is very dangerous thing! I believe that God is speaking to all of us today, and He expects us to respond. 

 

Let's bow our heads in prayer.

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Father, thank You for this Word. Thank You for Your marvelous love, mercy and compassion. Lord, we so often like to speak of Your unconditional love and forgiveness, ignoring Your warning of judgement and wrath. I pray that Your message for us will put some holy fear in the hearts of people. Lord, I pray that You would give no rest, no peace, no comfort to anyone joining us today who doesn’t know Jesus Christ, until they have surrendered to Him.Then, I pray that You would fill them with an abundance of peace, love and immeasurable joy! May it all be for Your glory and for Christ's sake.

In His name we pray

Amen

 

Today's Message: The Deceitfulness of Sin

I believe that the issue begins when we hear the Word of God, we feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit and we tell ourselves that we need to take action. Then we do nothing! In other words, we procrastinate with the most important issues of life. If we become tempted to put off our spiritual needs, Scripture clearly warns us of the impending danger of foolish choices and encourages us not to miss out on what God has for us, we are not to make light of the spiritual opportunities He sets before us. The warning that runs through out this section of the letter, is that if we fail to follow through when challenged by the Word of God, we face the inevitable hardening that occurs when we hear and fail to respond. Our heart becomes harder every time we say "no" to Jesus or to any part of His truth or will, for that matter.

 

For the record, God does not feel as though you’ve done Him some huge favor just because you like His gospel. In fact, if you hear it and you know it and intellectually you ascent to it, and never commit your heart to it, then the retribution and the judgement of God on you will be much sorer, much more serious than that on those who barely even heard the content of the gospel. And to whom much is given much is required.

 

The Holy Spirit warns the one who knows the gospel, who knows the truth, but because of their love of sin and the fear of persecution has not committed himself to the truth that he knows and believes is real.

There is no escape unless you commit yourself in total faith to Jesus Christ. It is my prayer, that you will hear and do, today, what God is calling you to do.

Open with me your Bibles to Hebrews 3. As we continue in our study in the book of Hebrews chapter 3, we come to verses 7 through 19.  Throughout God's Word, from the book of Genesis all the way through to Revelation, Scripture is filled with warning signs and they are intended by God to deter us from the inevitable wrath of God if we choose to continue on the course of sin.Throughout the pages of Scripture, in various settings and scenarios, in different words, God warns us. But are we listening?

 

I invite you to follow along with me as I read to you to set our text in our minds, as we listen for the voice of our Lord. Hebrews 3:7-19.  

"Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says,

“Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me,
As in the day of trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tried Me by testing Me,
And saw My works for forty years. “Therefore I was angry with this generation,
And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they did not know My ways’; As I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’” 

Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, while it is said,

“Today if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me.”

For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief."

 

Here is our text, we have another of God’s warnings to the unredeemed, those on a sinful course, urging them to turn to Jesus Christ before it is too late. The Jewish community to which this letter was written, had been visited by the apostles and prophets, it was under the preaching of those first apostles and prophets that they had heard the gospel. There were some who had believed unto salvation. Others had believed, however, had not committed themselves to that belief and were on the edge of believing, they weren’t quite ready or willing to commit themselves, because of the fear of persecution and the love of their own sin. However, there was also a third group, who were not at all convinced and they were just there. Unfortunately, there are still many people today who are like that, they have intellectually responded to the gospel. They have never gone all the way in committing themselves to Christ, accepting Him as Savior and Lord, repenting from their sins!

In verses 7-8, "Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says,“Today if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, As in the day of trial in the wilderness," God states that He is angry with the generation in the wilderness in verse. This word has the nuance of being disgusted with, or loathing someone.

 

"Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says," what an exciting statement! What divine inspiration is that the Holy Spirit speaking through the mouth of God’s agency.The word "Today," indicates urgency, it is not referring to a twenty-four hour period but rather it means "now!" God was working miracles in Israel – miracle, after miracle, after miracle. God had revealed Himself, with overwhelming evidence, yet they did not believe. In Psalm 95, David opened his mouth, the Holy Spirit spoke. When you and I open up the Bible, we look at the pages and read a verse, those are not the words of men, are words of the Spirit of God who is the author of the Scripture. 

 

In II Peter 1:20-21, Peter tells us "But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." 

 

Beloved, the Holy Spirit wrote every single word of Scripture. That’s why I believe it is such a gross injustice, it is sin of the highest degree, which opens the flood gates to every kind of possible heresy  when you deny the absolute verbal inspiration of God's Word. 

 

Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-18, "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished."

 

In Ii Corinthians 6, the Apostle Paul wrote, "And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain—for He says, “At the acceptable time I listened to you,
And on the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation”— giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses,  in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things.

Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is opened wide. You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections."

The Word of God says, "Harden not your hearts, but today hear His voice!" In other words, salvation is a now thing, you may not have an opportunity tomorrow. Today signifies the present moment, the time of grace is now! And so many people today as in the time of the Hebrews, as in the time of David, as in the time of Moses had the privilege of hearing God’s voice as He spoke. I'd like to draw your attention that it says,"If you will hear." In other words, hearing God's voice is a matter of your own will. We must choose to listen! By refusing, there is always that possibility of hardening the heart.

Paul wrote in I Timothy 4, "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will all away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer."   

In Mark chapter 4, Jesus told the parable of the sower. "And He *said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away."

The author of Hebrews is deeply concerned that his readers may be the rocky soil that withers under affliction or persecution. They were in danger of going back to a more comfortable life in their old Jewish religion because of the imminent threat of persecution in their newfound Christian faith. 

The key to avoiding a hardened heart is to recognize and submit to God’s authority through His inspired Word. If we sit in judgment on the Word, criticizing the things we disagree with, claiming its irrelevant or outdated, our hearts are challenging God. In order to learn from God, we must surrender completely to His inspired Word. Its not just that we are just to hear God's Word, but that we also obey what we hear.

In verses 9-10, "Where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, And saw My works for forty years. “Therefore I was angry with this generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart," I'd like you to notice, verse 8, "Do not harden your hearts," and, 3:10, "They always go astray in their hearts." In the Bible, the heart is not referring to the organ, but our total inner being; the mind, the emotions, and the will. We tend to look at the outward man, whereas God looks on the heart, or the inward man. 

Then in verse 11, God says "As I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest." This is referring to God’s settled, passionate opposition to sin. In spite of what many Christians today may think, God is not passive when it comes to sin. If we profess to be His children, but have not truly repented of our sins, as was the case with many who perished in the wilderness, God’s eternal wrath is upon us! Beloved, the point is, if we are truly God's children through faith in Christ, then Jesus bore God’s wrath for us on the cross, therefore, we do not need to fear His eternal punishment. However, we should fear His discipline, which is never pleasant! 

Like many of us who are parents, God disciplines His children in love, that we may share His holiness. However, He can certainly get rough if He needs too! If we would rightly judge our hearts, we can avoid His discipline. We are responsible for learning and obeying God's ways. We cannot plead ignorance, nor can we contest His discipline. God does as He chooses to whom He chooses, when He chooses. If we choose to neglect God's wisdom, when we have opportunity to learn it, we will be overwhelmed when we find ourselves in a crisis without it.

Those who chose to go astray,  had witnessed some of the greatest miracles that God has ever performed. They saw the ten plagues in Egypt. They witnessed the Red Sea part for them and close up again on Pharaoh’s army. They had seen God provide water and manna already in the barren Sinai desert. God emphasizes that for forty years they saw His works. If miracles alone could soften hard hearts, these people should have been strong in faith! Unfortunately, however, they weren’t.

Occasionally, God does use miracles in order to bring people to saving faith. I have often heard people say, "If God would just give me a miracle, I would believe!" More often than not, those skeptics are just making an excuse so that they can continue in their sin. I'm sure you will recall, in Luke chapter 16, the rich man in Hades who pleaded with Abraham to send someone to his brothers and warn them, so that they would not come to that place of torment. To which Abraham replied, "They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them." The rich man replied, "No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!" Just let them see a miracle! But Abraham answered, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead."

Quite often, God uses uses extreme trials for His people. His ways are not our ways. Consider God’s ways in delivering Israel from 400 years of slavery in Egypt. God needed a strong Jewish leader, in order to pull this off. Pick a man who has been raised in Pharaoh’s household, trained in all of the wisdom of the Egyptians, a man powerful in both word and deed. Good so far, right?  Then, God has this man fail in a colossal way, spending the next forty years of his life tending sheep out in the wilderness. 

Then, when God calls him to task, He will harden Pharaoh’s heart repeatedly, so that he will make the Israelites’ task harder and will refuse to let them go. Once he lets them go, He instructs him to march Israel to the Red Sea, where they’re helplessly trapped, by Pharaoh’s strong army. Once they get through this crisis, He leads them into the barren desert, where there is not even water. When they find water, He makes it bitter. Rather than lead them directly into the Promised Land, an eleven-day journey God decides to take them on the "40 year scenic route." The point was, God wanted to teach them to trust Him. Allow me to share this, God’s ways typically involve bringing His people to the end of themselves. I know that is exactly what He did with me. I had no where else to turn but to Him. 

Then, in verse 12, He says "Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God." If someone were to ask, what is the greatest sin you can think of, many would like say child molestation, murder or perhaps even genocide. Unbelief, however, would probably not occur to us, yet this sin is on God's list of terrible sins.

If we just shrug sin off as no big deal, soon we will no longer be on guard against it. Let's consider five aspects of unbelief that we should be on guard against: Unbelief, is the root behind every other sin that we commit. Let's stop and think about when Satan tempted Eve in the garden, he used deception to cause her to disbelieve the Word of God. Let's be completely honest here, if we really believed God's Word, we would not practice the terrible sins we've been warned against, would we? So, unbelief is a major deal to God!

In verse 13, He says "But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." Here, the author warns that they may be hardened by this sin. He then repeats this warning again inverse 15. As a footnote, anytime the Word of God repeats something, its a big deal, we need to pay attention!

Look at it this way, sin is a lot like the calluses on our skin. Without calluses, our skin is sensitive to pain. However, once calluses form, we can do little things that previously would have caused pain, except now, we barely feel it. Our consciences work much that same way. The first time we commit a sin, our conscience goes “Ouch!” The second time, it hurts, but not as bad. After a while, we can do it without even being aware that we are sinning. I’ve read of hardened hit men with the Mafia that can shoot a man in the face at close range and then go out for lunch to celebrate. Our unbelief hardens our hearts causing us to violate God’s standards of holiness. 

When the author refers to "the deceitfulness of sin" in verse 13. Sin deceives us into thinking that we will get out of our current circumstances and will deliver what we want, and that by our obedience to God, we will be deprived of what we want. It tricks us into believing that we’re getting what we want. Until the bill for our sin come due and God demands payment in full!

For example, you’re single and lonely, no one seems to be calling you for a date, and here comes Satan, saying "You will never get what you want by waiting on God, after all, if He hasn't deliver someone up by now, He isn't going too! Here is someone, who can give you what you need, at least tonight." Or perhaps you're married, and you are having trouble in your marriage. Your spouse is constantly nagging at you, you cannot seem to do anything right. They're are not meeting your needs sexually. And what do you know, suddenly, along comes a good looking, sensitive, understanding person who offers themselves to you. Satan whispers, "They can take care of your sexual needs, and no one will even find out!" Sin, always includes unbelief, that's how Satan deceives us. 

Verses 14-15, "For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, while it is said, "Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me."

The Christian life involves having a true heart for God. Let's be honest, it’s fairly easy to put on a good show in front of others. Hebrews chapter 4 tells us, "Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." 

I would like to draw your attention to the last verse, "there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." God knows our every doubt and sinful thought. We may fool others, however, we cannot fool Him, even for a second! 

The Apostle Paul teaches in II Corinthians 10: 5-6, "We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete." In other words, if we want to avoid falling into the temptation of sin, bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.Then, we must confess our sin and walk in obedience to God's commands, as given in His Word. Let be very clear about something, it is each of our responsibility to encourage one another to remain in the faith, if we see a brother turning away from the Lord! Since Satan does not let up in his attacks, we must not let up on encouraging one another in the faith. The point is, a deceived person cannot properly evaluate himself, because he thinks that everything is fine when in fact it’s not. Because sin deceives us, we need to come alongside one another and share this ministry of encouragement.

Now we come to verses 16-19, "For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief."   

While there was a truly saved remnant in that company, most of them grumbled, and complained disbelieving God, and they died in the wilderness. So, the author is saying to all professing Christians, "This applies to you!" In other words, even the best of us need to be cautioned against the worst of evils! 

If we are unbelievers, our sin will incur God’s final judgment. If we are true believers, our sin will bring on His strong discipline. Either way, I would strongly recommend against it. If God’s Word is true, and I believe that it is, then we must turn away from our sins, let our old ways behind us and begin demonstrating a transformed life to a lost and dying world. Sin not only renders us not only unwilling to obey God, but unable appropriate God’s blessings. I implore you not to become deceived into thinking that because you once believed, that you have eternal life! For even Satan and the fallen angels believe, therefore, we must also obey.

In Closing...

In order to avoid the hardness of heart, we must learn to submit to God’s authority through His Word, even when it causes us to give up something we want. We must take great care to ensure that our hearts are properly submitted to Him. And, we must recognize and accept His ways of dealing with us when we are disobedient. We must hold fast our great salvation in Christ. 

I would have to say that one of God’s ways that stands out, as most unlike our ways is sending Jesus to the cross. Jesus, the sinless Son of God died as the sacrifice for ungodly sinners. God justifies the ungodly through faith alone. This goes against our human pride.

Your heart is either hardening against God and His Word, or its growing more hungry for the truth, leading you toward God because you are submitting to His Word, His will and His ways. 

Your response to sin reveals the nature of your heart..

May it be so...

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen

 

 

 

 

 

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